Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $103.50 According to Brokerages

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.50.

SLF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Sun Life Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $544,052,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Sun Life Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $293,050,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth about $292,980,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Sun Life Financial in the second quarter worth about $280,312,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Sun Life Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $220,567,000. 52.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of SLF stock opened at $79.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.89. Sun Life Financial has a 12-month low of $57.22 and a 12-month high of $84.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.22.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.33 million. Sun Life Financial had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 7.66%. As a group, research analysts predict that Sun Life Financial will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th were paid a C$0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 26th. Sun Life Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.79%.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc is a Canadian financial services company that provides insurance, wealth, and asset management products to individuals, businesses, and institutions. The company serves clients through operations in Canada, the United States, and several markets in Asia.

Its insurance offerings include life, health, dental, disability, long-term care, and critical illness coverage, as well as annuities and employee benefits. Sun Life also provides retirement savings and investment products, including mutual funds and other wealth solutions for individuals and workplace plan members.

Through its asset management businesses, Sun Life manages investments for institutional and retail clients across a range of asset classes.